Certain connectors are known having a molded plastic housing having an array of axial passageways into which are then inserted and retained respective electrical contacts. Where the connector is a pin header fabricated for later connection of the contacts to corresponding contact means of another electrical article such as circuit termini of a circuit board, it may also be important to provide sealing of the passageways about the contacts after insertion and retention by applying an amount of sealant material such as epoxy resin which will then be cured to close off the passageways; sealant application is usually a tedious skill sensitive manual operation even if circular preforms are used which are then melted and cured. For example, when the contacts are to be soldered to circuit termini of a circuit board, it would be desirable to prevent solder flux from wicking along the contacts through the connector to the opposed mating face; flux along the contacts would tend to cause corrosion and would remain after flux cleaning operations if within the plastic housing. Other materials such as conformal coating sprays of dielectric material similarly could wick along the contacts and interfere with assured electrical connections with contacts of a mating connector. One example of such a sealed pin header connector is sold by AMP Incorporated of Harrisburg, Penn. under Part No. 531122-5. It is desirable to provide a sealed pin header which is fabricated in an economical way.
Insert molding is generally known in the making of certain electrical connectors in which an array of contacts is held by tooling to extend into a mold cavity, and a plastic body is injection molded around body portions of the contacts intermediate opposed contact section ends, which then extend outwardly from two faces of the plastic body. One example of such a connector is sold by AMP Incorporated of Harrisburg, Penn. under the designation AMP-BLADE Connector, Part No. 582843 Series.